


Il Monumento

by Lady_Caryatid



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Chibitalia - Freeform, Fascism, Flashback, Gen, Historical Hetalia, Remember This, Scars, nations and humans, serious hetalia, there's a difference between a nationtan and its government
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 02:19:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3511601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Caryatid/pseuds/Lady_Caryatid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in 1922, Italy meets his new boss for the first time, and gets an idea of the sort of plans he has in store for the future...</p><p>(Comic-style, all art drawn my me.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Il Monumento

**Author's Note:**

> “We need soldiers rather than philosophers.” -Il Popolo d’Italia, 1928

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

One of the reasons why I made this comic is because every so often I see comics that replace the Hetalia characters with their world leaders (ex. Germany with Hitler, Italy with Mussolini, etc) And yes sometimes it’s done in a genuinely funny way but a lot of times I think it’s because people forget that nation-tans are characters on their own too, and not just robotic manifestations of their leaders or government policies.

Regarding Italy, he's really fascinating because,he certainly does not fit the description of Mussolini’s heteronormative cult of virility which encouraged aggression and implored males to be the “military, uncouth, and virile” beings that they “naturally” were, as opposed to the “feminized” intellectual bourgeoisie that was looked down upon. While Feliciano can be an efficient fighter if he wants to, he’d much rather be cooking, flirting, reading and making art and music. He’s much more interested in exploring other cultures rather than dominate them, and while his exact sexuality is unconfirmed, he is definitely not straight. Rather than being a contradiction, this is probably a good representation because even with all the propaganda and militaristic programs Mussolini put into place, inevitably not everyone could live up to the standard, and some people of course just blatantly ignored it.

For all the times he’s the butt of jokes, both in canon and in fandom, Feliciano Vargas really is one of the wisest characters in the series. Despite, or maybe because of said “uselessness,” Italy seems to have stumbled upon an important truth–the truth that the pursuit and lust for Power is ultimately detrimental, and it’s just so much worthwhile to try and learn about and appreciate the wonderful things about people, even if they’re different than you, and even if it means being considered foolish. It’s the little victories in life that are much more important to celebrate than the conquering of others. Whatever shady things his government might be up to at any point in history (colonization *cough cough*), Feliciano couldn’t be less concerned with chasing after power and glory–for all his ditziness and for all the times he’s made fun of in canon for being “weak,” **remember that as a child he turned down Holy Rome’s offer to “become the greatest nation in the world” because he saw the effect it had on his grandpa**. Italy knows that power, while it sure might feel good in the meantime, only leads to more stress and devastation, and it never lasts. It’s something that Grandpa Rome himself learned as well, as seen in the episode where he visits Germany and is asked why he disappeared. “I thought my wealth and power would last forever,” he says. The Rome that Feli remembers, the old man scarred by age and time, is so different than the Duce’s imagination of a sublime, godlike being of unstoppable force and glory. It’s not just about the physical resemblance, but the attitude and meaning behind the representation as well…

And I speculate that Mussolini probably viewed Feliciano more as “the grandson of Roman Empire” rather than as an individual in his own right.

**Extra Notes:**

-On the first page: in 1925 Mussolini gave permission to Cesare Mori to start an intense and violent crackdown on the Mafia, which while at the time was purported by the government to be successful, when in actuality… it was not. It also caused several mafia members to move to the United States.

-idk my perspective and scenery game is pretty rusty but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t inspired by the vast architectural interiors of “The Conformist”…

-The Rome Statue is holding the Fasces, which was the symbol of authority in Ancient Rome and from which the Fascist party adopted as its symbol (and name) as well.

-The whole suspicion of intellectuals was kind of the most incredible thing for me, like I’ve always known that dictatorships are suspicious of intellectuals, but the sheer lengths they went to demonize it was just…kind of ridiculous. Mostly because they demonized intellectuals by associating it with being an “infertile intelligence,” and (*gasp*) associating it with femininity “but in the worst sense, for it is a femininity that will never be maternal.” Um yeah. The tenets are just rooted in misogyny…

 

Further Reading:

 [(for a quick overview)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_of_masculinity_under_fascist_Italy)

-[ Model of masculinity: Mussolini, the ‘new Italian’ of the Fascist era, The International Journal of the History of Sport, 16:4, 27-61,](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09523369908714098%20Gigliola%20Gori%20\(1999\))

[ Sandro Bellassai (2005) The masculine mystique: antimodernism and virility in fascist Italy, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 10:3, 314-335,](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13545710500188338)

As usual I’m just a nerdy student, not an expert, so if any of you have any commentary to add please do so!

-Birdy

 

 


End file.
